Weakness
by Celeste Belle
Summary: As the first two members of Luffy's nakama, Zoro and Nami seem to take his defeat, and Ace's death the hardest. They, along with the rest of the crew, evaluate their strength, and find themselves lacking. They vow to become much stronger to protect Luffy. After all, he is their one weakness.


A/N: So, I've been reading the One Piece manga and I just finished reading about Whitebeard, Ace, and the Navy during the Paramount War arc. I just finished reading about the battle. I haven't read the volume where Luffy meets back with his crew yet, so this will be total AU. I'm not entirely sure where this came from, but I suddenly had to write it.

Summary: As the first two members of Luffy's nakama, Zoro and Nami seem to take his defeat, and Ace's death the hardest. After all, Luffy is his nakama's weakness.

Weakness: disadvantage, powerlessness, fondness, soft spot

Weakness

Nami sighed as she closed the door softly behind her. Luffy was still resting. Trafalgar Law had patched him up well, but he hadn't been too sure that Luffy still had the will to live. When they'd picked up their captain from Boa Hancock, they'd assured her that the best thing for Luffy was to be with his family. Now, it was only a matter of waiting for him to wake up. Someone had been by Luffy's side every moment for the past week. Chopper had finally declared that Luffy appeared to be getting better, though slowly, so they were all going to take a moment to have a meeting.

Once she got on deck, Nami walked tiredly over to the rest of the crew. Sliding down so that she could sit next to Zoro, she offered a brief smile when he nudged her arm with his. The others were discussing where they should go next, and what their next move would be. One thing they had agreed on was that they were not yet strong enough to hunt down Blackbeard, even if Luffy had been awake.

"We almost lost him, Zoro." Nami's mournful voice drew everyone's attention.

Zoro nodded. "But we didn't, and we won't. He's our captain."

"But we could have." Her voice was insistent, as though she was saying something he just couldn't understand.

"We are all aware of that, Nami. We all care about Luffy," Robin said.

Zoro didn't reply, but in an uncharacteristic display of camaraderie, he placed an arm around her shoulders.

"There have been so many times we could have lost him, but we were there for those," Nami said, thinking of Arlong, and the other threats they'd faced. Until recently, she'd almost started to believe they were invincible.

"We'll be there for the next fight. He won't face any others alone." Zoro couldn't promise that, but it made Nami feel better to hear it.

"We're not strong enough," she finally said. "Even if we'd been there, we wouldn't have been strong enough to help. We are weak!" Nami's exclamation rang across the deck. "It's not enough anymore. Having adventures, exploring, making discoveries, stealing treasure…it's not _enough_ anymore! It's still important, but it's not enough. We are weak! We can't keep doing what we've been doing, and still think that everything will be okay."

Nami's gaze locked on Zoro's as though he would understand what she was trying to say. From the dark look that stole over his face, she knew that he did.

"A new era is starting, and if it's the age of Blackbeard, that's going to bring trouble. We believe in Luffy. It's why he's our captain. He wants…_needs_ to be the Pirate King. _That_ will usher in a new era, one greater than Blackbeard, or Whitebeard, or even Gol D. Roger. He's special. People are drawn to him, and that will give us allies when the time comes to usher in Luffy's era, but _we_ are _weak_. We are not fit to be the nakama of the next Pirate King!"

Nami stood, hands curled into fists. The others looked at each other uneasily. Chopper started to cry. Only Zoro's gaze remained on Nami.

"We have to get stronger. If we're going to follow the man who was the blood brother of Fire Fist Ace – the son of Gol D. Roger, if we're going to follow the man who is the grandson of Hero Garp, and the son of Dragon the Revolutionary, we cannot be _weak_." She spat the last word as though it disgusted her. "He is our captain. _He_ is _our_ nakama." She cast her gaze over the others. "He is the one we have chosen to back as the next Pirate King. If we're going to get him there, we have to be stronger. What we were doing isn't enough anymore."

Finally, she paused, heaving for breath as tears streamed down her face. Zoro stood and placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned a tearstained face toward him, lips quivering.

"We didn't lose him, Nami. He's still here with us. He'll get better, and we'll get stronger. Then, we'll make him the next Pirate King, and crush all who would oppose him." His voice was firm, his words certain.

Nami took a deep breath. Zoro was right. A new determination was born in each of them that day, a determination that no longer only centered on their own individual dreams. For the first time, they truly felt like nakama, united by one, single goal. They could and would become stronger. They would do it for Luffy, to protect Luffy, because he was their captain, the one they would give up their dreams for – their one weakness.


End file.
